Mesoporous starburst carbon incorporated with metal nanocrystals or metal oxide nanocrystals, and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

A composition is provided that includes mesoporous carbon domains. Each of the mesoporous carbon domains is incorporated with particles of metal or metal oxide in an amount of from 40 to 85 total weight percent of the composition. The metal or metal oxide particles can include tin, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, iron, or ruthenium, or an oxide thereof. The resulting composition when combined with a binder from a battery electrode. Such a battery electrode operating as an anode in a lithium ion battery has specific capacities of more than 1000 miliAmperes-hour per gram after 15 of the galvanostatic cycles.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to a composition of matter composed of mesoporous carbon domains having particles of metal or metal oxides incorporated therethrough at amounts of greater than 40 weight percent of the total composition, and in particular to the use of such a composition as a high energy density battery electrode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The ability to develop a high efficiency lithium battery has been met with limited success owing in large part to low capacity, as measured in miliAmperes hours per gram (mAh/g), as well as a dramatic decrease in capacity with battery cycling. A prototypical anode for many lithium ion batteries is conventional graphite with a theoretical capacity of 372 mAh/g. In response to these limitations, the prior art has explored metallic and metal oxide based anodes as a replacement for graphite. Such anodes typically have theoretical capacities much greater than that of graphite. By way of example, tin has a theoretical capacity or gravimetric capacity of about 960 mAh/g. Tin oxide has a theoretical capacity of 1491 mAh/g. Unfortunately, metal and metal oxide based lithium ion battery electrodes suffer from large volume changes with lithium intercalation/deintercalation that rapidly fragment the electrode with cycling. Electrode fragmentation also referred to herein as decrepitation increases overall cell impedance. As a result, bulk tin foil can only be cycled at 600 mAh/g for only about 15 cycles before a dramatic decrease in operating performance. S. Yang et al. Electrochem. Commun. 2003, 5(7), 587-590. In order to address bulk material decrepitation, nano structures and nano composites have been extensively investigated to address volumetric changes during electrochemical cycling.

In order to overcome decrepitation problems associated with bulk tin, various composite systems have been evaluated. These systems illustratively include tin dispersed in carbon matrices (M. Egashira et al., J. Power Sources, 2002, 107(1), 56-60); tin-core/carbon-sheath coaxial nanocables (B. Luo et al, Adv. Mater. 2012, 24(11), 1405-1409); dual metal alloy nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon (Q. Fan et al. Electrochem. Solid-state Lett. 2007 10(12) A274-A278); tin-secondary metal oxides (Y. Idota et al., Science 1997, 276(5317), 1395-1397); tin oxide nanoparticles (C. Kim et al., Chem. Mater. 2005 17(12), 1397-3301); and other reduced domain size tin oxide halo structures, nanotubes, nanowires, and nanosheets. While these prior art records have shown progress in increasing capacity to between 400 and 700 mAh/g over 15 cycles, these systems have required high carbon contents of greater than 40 percent by weight carbon in order to achieve improved capacity and at the expense of a lower theoretical capacity than could be achieved with lower amounts of carbon materials.

Thus, there exists a need for a composition with a higher capacity than conventional electrode materials. There further exists a need for a process for forming such a composition into a battery electrode.

SUMMARY

A composition is provided that includes mesoporous carbon domains. Each of the mesoporous carbon domains is incorporated with particles of metal or metal oxide in an amount of from 40 to 85 total weight percent of the composition. The metal or metal oxide particles can include tin, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, iron, or ruthenium, or an oxide thereof. The resulting composition when combined with a binder form a battery electrode. Such a battery electrode operating as an anode in a lithium ion battery has specific capacities of more than 1000 miliAmperes-hour per gram after 15 of the voltage cycles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a plot of specific capacity as a function of cycle number in an inventive composition through 15 discharge cycles with the capacity for a conventional graphite anode provided for comparison as a dashed line; and

FIG. 2 is a plot of voltage as a function of specific capacity(charge and discharge profiles) for an inventive composition through 15 discharge cycles showing a less than 25% first irreversible capacity loss.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention has utility as a battery electrode that surprisingly has gravimetric energy densities even after 15 discharge cycles that remain above those previously obtained by the prior art. In specific inventive embodiments, gravimetric capacity or gravimetric specific capacity, synonymously referred to herein as capacity, of above 1,000 mAh/g is obtained. An inventive electrode is based on mesoporous carbon domains that are incorporated with particles of metal, metal oxide, or a combination thereof such that the incorporated particles constitute between 40 and 85 weight percent of the resultant composition. The particles are formed in-situ in certain inventive embodiments while in other inventive embodiments, the particles are formed external to the mesoporous carbon domains and diffused into the domains. With resort to a binder, the incorporated mesoporous carbon domains are readily joined to form a battery electrode of a desired shape and size.

It should be understood that in instances where a range of values are provided, the range is intended to encompass not only the end point values of the range but also intermediate values of the range are explicitly included within the range varying by the last significant figure of the range. By way of example, a recited range of from 1 to 4 is intended to include 1-2, 1-3, 2-4, 3-4, and 1-4.

As used herein, the term maximal linear extent is intended to define a longest linear direction for a domain or particle from among three orthogonal axis of x-y-z. It should be appreciated that a spherical domain or particle has equal maximal linear dimensions along all three axis x-y-z and as a result an aspect ratio between the maximal linear extent and the related minimal linear extent of one.

An inventive composition having a mesoporous carbon domain may be readily produced in a variety of shapes illustratively including rods, plates, spheres, and prolate spheroid shapes. Mesoporous carbon domains may be routinely synthesized through a nanocasting process using a suitable mesoporous template formed of silica or zeolite. Such techniques are well known to the art as exemplified in R. Ryoo et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 103 (1999) 7743; J. Lee et al., Chem. Commun. (1999) 2177; S. Jun et al., JACS 122 (2000) 10,712; T. Kyotani et al., Chem. Mater. 9 (1997) 609; and Z. X. Ma et al., Chem. Commun. (2000) 2365; T. Nakamura et al., Micropourous and Mesoporous Materials 117 (2009) 478. Mesoporous carbon domains as detailed herein may be characterized by high surface areas as measured by BET; with surface areas routinely over 600 m²/g and in some embodiments over 1,000 m²/g while in still other embodiments surface areas approach 1,300 m²/g. Typical pore sizes for such mesoporous carbon domains range between 1.0 nm and 10 nm. It is appreciated that the overall dimensions and maximal linear extent to of a mesoporous carbon domain is limited only by the template used for domain formation. Typical, non-limiting sizes of mesoporous carbon domains operative herein extend from 0.1 to 2 microns for spherical domains.

The ability to produce a mesoporous carbon domain with the aforementioned high surface areas and controlled pore size is exploited herein to produce a composition with a loading of metal, metal oxide, or a combination thereof as particles in the amount of between 40 and 85 percent by weight incorporated into mesoporous domains so as to achieve battery electrodes with exceptional gravimetric and volumetric energy densities relative to conventional battery anodes. To facilitate intercalation of such particles within a mesoporous carbon domain, reagents for in situ particle synthesis or preformed nanocrystaline domains of the metal or metal oxide are drawn to the pore structure of the mesoporous carbon domains. The incorporated particles have particle linear domain sizes that are controlled by pore dimensions in the case of in situ particle synthesis or diffusional limits of nanocrystal particles that are presynthesized and allowed to penetrate into the mesoporous carbon domains. Without intending to be bound to a particle theory, it is believed that the solution based particle synthesis or diffusion of nanocrystal particles into the mesoporous carbon domains is facilitated by capillary draw forces into pore channels of the mesoporous carbon domains. It is appreciated that a mesoporous carbon domain incorporated with particles of metal, or metal oxide, is synthesized with a coating of such particles on the exterior surface of the mesoporous carbon domain. Such surface coated mesoporous carbon domains are intended to be encompassed in the invention compositions. It is appreciated that particles bound to the exterior surface of mesoporous carbon domains are readily removed through preferential reactivity of exterior surface bound particles with preferential removal through photolysis, mechanical abrasion, chemical disillusion, or a combination thereof. It is appreciated that control of the surface of inventive compositions with respect to the presence of metal or metal oxide particles thereon, or mesoporous carbon is exploited in various applications to adjust the optical and electrical properties of a macroscopic particle composed of such particle incorporated mesoporous carbon domains. In certain inventive embodiments where the mesoporous carbon domains have a required degree of uniformity, the particle incorporated domains self-assemble into colloidal crystals.

Mesoporous carbon domains incorporated with metals and/or metal oxides according to the present invention, when applied in amounts of between 40 and 85 total weight percent of the combination of mesoporous carbon domain and particles, are well-suited for the construction of a battery electrode with high capacity and inhibition of decrepitation. Particles operative herein for the formation of an electrode may be selected from a variety of metals and/or metal oxides. These metals and/or metal oxides illustratively may include the main group metal of tin; main group oxide of tin oxide; transition metals of cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, iron, ruthenium, and combinations thereof; transition metal oxides of CoO, Co₃O₄, CuO, Cu₂O, MoO₃, NiO, FeO, Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, RuO₂, and combinations thereof. It is appreciated that with voltage cycling of such metals and/or metal oxides within a lithium ion battery cell, that inner-conversion occurs through reversible reactions with lithium metal, lithium ions, and the particles of metals or metal oxides. Typical particle sizes for metals or metal oxides used herein have a maximal linear extent of between 2 and 15 nm for those particles incorporated into the volume of a mesoporous carbon domain while those particles on mesoporous carbon domain surface are unrestrained by mesoporous carbon domain dimensions and therefore free to grow to larger maximal linear extents. In the majority of embodiments of the present invention, particles of metal or metal oxide within the mesoporous carbon domains typically are spherical in shape and have a degree of crystallinity. Such particles are present at a high weight loading percentages of between 40 and 85 percent of the combined mesoporous carbon domain-particle structure. In some embodiments, contacts between contiguous particles form extended particle aggregates having a fractal-like appearance characterized by non-integer dimensionalities of greater than one and less than three. It is appreciated that particles of an inventive composition are readily used that have aspect ratios greater than one and includes rods and other particle shapes that have aspect ratios greater than one and less than 10.

Particles of metal or metal oxide are readily synthesized in situ within mesoporous carbon domains through a variety of techniques that include solution impregnation of the mesoporous carbon domains with a metal salt solution or organometallics. Upon solvent removal oxidation or reduction yields metal oxides and metals, respectively. In order to achieve high loadings of particles within a mesoporous carbon domain according to the present invention, the metal ion containing reagents noted above are used at high concentrations relative to the solubility limits of the specific reagent and the solvent system employed. Typical in particular embodiments, of the present invention, such reagents are used in amounts of between 1% and 100% of solvent solubility limits for that reagent under exposure conditions to the mesoporous carbon domains. Typical solvents for incorporating particle free agents into mesoporous carbon domains include water; low molecular weight alcohols illustratively including methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, furfuryl alcohol; ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and methyl butyl ketone; and hydrocarbon, aromatics. It is appreciated that the solvent is chosen with the pore surfaces of the mesoporous carbon domain as well as to dissolve precursors. It is appreciated that water is a particularly well-suited solvent as numerous metal ion salts are dissolvable therein at high concentrations. It is also appreciated that the ability of a reagent solution to wet pores of a mesoporous carbon domain readily modified through pH modification.

In other embodiments, mesoporous carbon domains are incorporated with previously synthesized metal or metal oxide crystals and the exposure of mesoporous carbon domains to either sols or solutions of such nanoparticles and allowing sufficient time for the nanocrystals to diffuse into the pore structure of the mesoporous carbon domains. It is appreciated that such nanocrystals exist as a colloidal suspension or as a solution with surface passivating groups on the nanocrystal surface to impart solvent solubility to the nanocrystal. A technique for sol intercalation of tin oxide nanocrystals is conventional to the art. R. Demir-Cakan et al., Chem. Mater. 20 (2008) (1227).

Regardless of the method of introducing particle precursors into the volume of mesoporous carbon domains, oxidation to form metal oxides in many instances readily occurs through exposure to ambient air during or subsequent to introduction. Alternatively, metal precursors are reduced to form metal particles through exposure to reductive conditions introduced chemically through the inclusion of substances such as LiAlH₄ or BAlH₄, or other solution soluble reducing agents, or exposure to a reducing atmosphere.

Upon using a composition including mesoporous carbon domains incorporated with metal or metal oxide particles, or a combination thereof, where the particles constitute between 40 and 95 percent of the composition, a battery electrode is readily formed by mixing a polymeric binder and the resulting mixture and subsequently forming into a desired electrode. It is appreciated that the resulting electrode may be readily formed in various forms and thicknesses depending on the desired parameters; such an electrode is readily formed as a solid rod, polo, a sheet, perforated web, or other such desired forms. Binder substances operative herein illustratively include polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PDP), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDP), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), and combinations thereof. It is appreciated that in some embodiments, a binder may be dissolved or suspended in a solvent to reduce viscosity and promote rapid mixing of the binder with particulate incorporated mesoporous carbon domains and with equal of the solvent, a battery electrode is provided. It is appreciated that an electrode provided according to the present invention may be particularly well suited as anodes for lithium batteries. By way of example, mesoporous carbon domains having a maximal linear extent of 860 nm as spherical domains and a tin oxide loading totaling 80% of the combined domain-particle weight, and a mean oxide domain size of 2.1 nm as determined by X-ray powder diffraction line broadening achieves current capacities of more than 1,200 mAh/g even after 15 galvanostatic cycles. Inventive battery electrodes are obtained that attain between 80 and 99 percent of the theoretical current capacity for the electrode composition for voltage cycles after the first cycle. The ability to cycle an inventive electrode 15 galvanostatic cycles while achieving such a high percentage of theoretical current capacity is indicative of an electrode structure that does not experience the decrepitation common to prior art electrodes incorporating particles.

The present invention is further illustrated with respect to the following examples. It needs to be understood that these examples are provided to illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Mono dispersed mesoporous spherical carbon domains are synthesized having a particle size of 860 nm, a pore volume of 0.84 liters per gram, a specific surface area of 1,560 m²/g and a pore size of 1.8 nm are synthesized by conventional technique. T. Nakamora et al., Micropourous Mesoporous Mater. 117 (2009) 478. 100 mg of such mesoporous carbon domains are dispersed in 250 mls of distilled water containing 4 mls of concentrated HCl and 5 g of tin (II) chloride. After stirring for 3 hours at room temperature, followed by filtration and distilled water rinsing, a dry powder was obtained that is 79±0.4 weight percent tin oxides as determined by combustion and thread detection of mesoporous carbon content. The tin oxide particles having a mean particle size of 5 nm. The resulting tin oxide incorporated mesoporous carbon domains are mixed with PVDF dissolved in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent to obtain a mixture that is 80% by weight of mesoporous carbon domains incorporating particles, 10% by weight of conductive carbon black and 10% by weight PVDF upon solvent removal. The mixture is formed into an electrode of a coin-type half-cell 2032-type as a 25 or 75 μm thick film on a copper foil backing. Typical loading is about 3 mg/cm² or 9 mg/cm², respectively. One mole LiPF₆ 1:1 ethylene carbonate/diethylene carbonate (EC/DEC) is used for voltage cycling from 50 m V−2V or 5 mv−3V (versus Li⁺/Li). A plot of capacity as a function of cycle number is provided in FIG. 1 in which high reversible specific capacity above 1,000 mAh/g exists even after 15 galvanostatic cycles. A coulombic efficiency of greater than 99% is noted for each voltage cycle after the first cycle and a capacity is 95% of the theoretical energy capacity for such a composition. In FIG. 1, charge capacity values are noted as filled diamonds while discharge capacities are noted as filled squares. The capacity of a normalized conventional graphite anode having a constant capacity value of 372 mAh/g is depicted as a dashed line in FIG. 1 for comparison. A charg/discharge curve corresponding to the composition tested in FIG. is shown in FIG. 2 in which it is noted that irreversible capacity loss associated with the first cycle is less than 25%.

EXAMPLE 2

The process of example 1 is repeated with the exception that the amount of tin (II) chloride is increased to 20 g to achieve a loading of 85 weight percent tin oxide in the mesoporous spherical carbon domains. Similar electrode performance is noted to that provided with respect to example 1.

EXAMPLE 3

The process of example 1 with a molar equivalent of iron (III) substituted for tin chloride. The resulting electrode has a specific capacity that is more than 95% of the theoretical capacity for such an electrode.

EXAMPLE 4

The process of example 1 with a molar equivalent of nickel (II) substituted for tin chloride. The resulting electrode has a specific capacity that is more than 81% of the theoretical capacity for such an electrode.

EXAMPLE 5

The process of example 1 with a molar equivalent of cobalt (II) substituted for tin chloride. The resulting electrode has a specific capacity that is more than 74% of the theoretical capacity for such an electrode.

EXAMPLE 6

The process of example 1 with a molar equivalent of molybdenum (VI) substituted for tin chloride. The resulting electrode has a current capacity that is more than 83% of the theoretical capacity for such an electrode.

EXAMPLE 7

The process of example 1 is repeated with the addition of using the tin oxide incorporated with mesoporous spherical carbon domains in a vacuum oven having an atmosphere of 10% hydrogen and nitrogen after 16 hours at 250° C., carbon domains are noted to be filled with metallic tin nanocrystals.

EXAMPLE 8

The process of example 7 is repeated with the exception that an equal molar amount of iron (III) substituted substituted for tin chloride to produce metallic iron nanocrystals.

EXAMPLE 9

The process of example 7 is repeated with the exception that an equal molar amount of nickel (II) substituted substituted for tin chloride to produce metallic nickel nanocrystals.

References cited in the invention specification are indicative of the skill in the art at the time of the invention. These references are specifically individually incorporated herein by reference to the same extent as if each individual reference was individually incorporated herein by reference.

While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appending claims, each scope is to be afforded the broadest interpretation as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law. 

1. A composition comprising: a plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains; each of said mesoporous starburst carbon domains incorporated with particles of metal or metal oxide where the metal is at least one of tin, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, iron, or ruthenium, or an oxide thereof, said particles being present at from 40 to 85 total weight percent of the composition.
 2. The composition of claim 1 wherein said plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains are spherical and comprises carbon nanorods.
 3. The composition of claim 2 wherein said plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains are monodisperse.
 4. The composition of claim 1 wherein said particles of the metal or the metal oxide decorate an external surface of one of said plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains.
 5. The composition of claim 1 wherein said plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains have a surface area of greater than 100 square meters per gram.
 6. The composition of claim 1 wherein said particles are tin oxide.
 7. The composition of claim 6 wherein said particles of tin oxide are present from 75 to 85 total weight percent of the composition.
 8. The composition of claim 1 wherein said particles are tin.
 9. The composition of claim 1 wherein said particles are a cobalt oxide.
 10. The composition of claim 1 wherein said particles are iron oxide.
 11. The composition of claim 1 wherein said particles have a maximal linear extent of between 2 and 15 nm and an aspect ratio relative to a minimal linear extent of between 1 and 3 inclusive.
 12. A battery electrode comprising: a composition of claim 1; and a binder intermixed with the composition.
 13. The electrode of claim 12 wherein the particles are tin oxide.
 14. The electrode of claim 12 wherein the binder is polyvinylidene fluoride.
 15. A process of operating a battery electrode comprising: placing the battery electrode of claim 12 in an electrolyte containing lithium ions; forming an electrical circuit including the battery electrode; and applying voltage cycles to the battery electrode to achieve a capacity of more than 800 miliAmperes-hour per gram after 15 of the voltage cycles.
 16. The process of claim 15 wherein the capacity is more than 900 miliAmperes·hour per gram after 15 of the voltage cycles.
 17. The process of claim 15 wherein the capacity is more than 1000 miliAmperes·hour per gram after 15 of the voltage cycles.
 18. The process of claim 15 wherein the electrode has a current capacity of greater than 80% of the theoretical capacity.
 19. The process of claim 15 wherein the battery electrode after a first voltage cycle of the voltage cycles has a coulombic efficiency between charge and discharge portions of one of the voltage cycles of greater than 95%.
 20. The process of claim 15 wherein the battery electrode comprises mesoporous spherical carbon domains that are monodisperse with a surface area of more than 1,200 meters squared per gram and the particles incorporated into carbon domains are tin oxide, the particles being more than 80 weight percent of the carbon domain-particle incorporated composition.
 21. A battery electrode comprising: a composition including mesoporous starburst carbon domains with a loading of tin oxide particles in the amount of between 40 and 85 percent by weight intercalated therein, wherein said battery electrode has gravimetric capacity of 1200 mAh/g.
 22. A battery electrode comprising: a plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains; each of said mesoporous starburst carbon domains incorporated with particles of metal or metal oxide; a binder intermixed with said plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains and having between 80 and 99 percent of the theoretical current capacity for the electrode while independent of decrepitation.
 23. The electrode of claim 22 wherein said plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains are spherical and comprise carbon nanorods.
 24. The electrode of claim 22 wherein said particles are tin oxide.
 25. The electrode of claim 22 further comprising lithium intercalated into said plurality of mesoporous starburst carbon domains. 